Release Date: 24/01/13
SYNOPSIS:
Gathered together for the first time from a major publisher are the short stories of Adam Roberts. Unique twisted visions from the edges and the centre of the SF genres. Stories that carry Adam Roberts' trademark elegance of style and restless enquiry of the genre he loves so much. Acclaimed stories, some that have appeared in magazines, some in anthologies, some appearing for the first time. Stories to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you wonder, to make you uneasy. Stories that ask questions, stories that sow mysteries. But always stories that entertain.
REVIEW:
There are times when you’re reading that you really want stories that you can dive into during journeys, or something a little different for your lunch break and that’s where short stories really weave their magical influence, or in the case of Adam Robots, programme you with their influence as his own brand of Sci-Fi short stories comes to the fore in this publication by Gollancz.
Each have their own moral, their own wonderful twist which when blended with the authors ability to weave a tale that really drags you in does exactly what the reader wants out of these types of story. Add to the mix a cracking sense of wonderment, some great twists as well as characters that will stay within your memory and all round you’re in for a treat.
Release Date: 27/07/12
SYNOPSIS:
Jack Glass is the murderer. We know this from the start. Yet as this extraordinary novel tells the story of three murders committed by Glass the reader will be surprised to find out that it was Glass who was the killer and how he did it. And by the end of the book our sympathies for the killer are fully engaged. Riffing on the tropes of crime fiction (the country house murder, the locked room mystery) and imbued with the feel of golden age SF, JACK GLASS is another bravura performance from Roberts. Whatever games he plays with the genre, whatever questions he asks of the reader, Roberts never loses sight of the need to entertain. JACK GLASS has some wonderfully gruesome moments, is built around three gripping HowDunnits and comes with liberal doses of sly humour. Roberts invites us to have fun and tricks us into thinking about both crime and SF via a beautifully structured novel set in a society whose depiction challanges notions of crime, punishment, power and freedom. It is an extraordinary novel.
REVIEW:
Whilst I’ve not always been enamoured of Adam’s writing style this book was one that whilst left on my TBR pile for a while was one that I was more than satisfied with upon finally engaging. The characters stand out, have different quirks and all come together to allow the tale to expand to its full length in an organic manner without there being any wasted space. The prose as usual is sharp, the pace solid and when added in with the touch of Space Opera, really brings the whole piece to life for the viewer.
Add to this a delightfully delicious darkness that doesn’t need to be something alien as mankind is capable of it all on his own and the reader will be engaged for quite some time. For me, this is one of my favourite books that Adam has written and I’ll definitely look forward to other titles by this author. Great stuff.
Release Date: 18/08/11
SYNOPSIS:
In a world where we have been genetically engineered so that we can photosynthesise sunlight with our hair hunger is a thing of the past, food an indulgence. The poor grow their hair, the rich affect baldness and flaunt their wealth by still eating. But other hungers remain . . . The young daughter of an affluent New York family is kidnapped. The ransom demands are refused. Years later a young women arrives at the family home claiming to be their long lost daughter. She has changed so much, she has lived on light, can anyone be sure that she has come home? Adam Roberts' new novel is yet another amazing melding of startling ideas and beautiful prose. Set in a New York of the future it nevertheless has echoes of a Fitzgeraldesque affluence and art-deco style. It charts his further progress as one of the most important writers of his generation.
REVIEW:
Adam Roberts is an author that will appear in quite a few Science Fiction readers top ten’s with one title or another, yet for me, I really couldn’t get into this latest book released by Gollancz. Yes I could see the author typical writing style with sharp prose and interesting premise but I just couldn’t get behind the characters within which I didn’t feel were fleshed out enough for me to generate a caring response to.
Add to this that a lot of the novel felt like padding and I was left wondering if this title was more a novella or short story expanded to fulfil a contractual obligation. Sadly, whilst I have enjoyed this author’s work in the past this one just wasn’t for me and I hope that the next book goes back to what has gone before with better rounded characters, a huge overall plot alongside his breakneck pace and cracking prose.
BOOK BLURB:
Adam Roberts' new novel is a terrifying vision of a near future war - a civil war that tears the UK apart as new technologies allow the worlds first truly democratic army to take on the British army and wrest control from the powers that be. Taking advances in modern communication and the new eagerness for power from the bottom upwards Adam Roberts has produced a novel that is at once an exciting war novel and a philosophical examination of war and democracy. It shows one of the UKs most exciting and innovative literary voices working at the height of his powers and investing SF with literary significance that is its due.
REVIEW:
Science Fiction has always looked forward as a genre, so it’s always interesting to see what new innovation each author brings to the genre. What Adam Roberts brings to the reader in this new offering is a tale that takes the reader into the New Model Army, one that doesn’t rely on the antiquated chain of command but of a cohesion that few others can match as each trooper is an army on his own under his multiple roles. This is achieved through the use of a computer chipped democratic process where each member gets a vote and with a handy wiki available for all to use, they manage to fulfil each roll with ease.
What Roberts also does with this tale is to keep the voice of the principle protagonist as something that is not only brusque but matter of fact which adds a layer of believability to the tale that others fail o achieve. That said there are problems with this tale. For example the author announces two thirds of the way through that the “hero” is gay, not that I’m against it, but it wasn’t required, it didn’t add another layer, it didn’t do anything to further the story and it seemed more as an after thought to try and fill up some space. Why? Was it a homage to the Ancient Greeks or just to try and help bring the tale to another area of the literary market?
All in all, its well written and does bring a whole new option to table. So for that alone it’s a worthy read.
BOOK BLURB:
Marley was dead. Again. The legendary Ebenezeer Scrooge sits in his house counting money. The boards that he has nailed up over the doors and the windows shudder and shake under the blows from the endless zombie hordes that crowd the streets hungering for his flesh and his miserly braaaaiiiiiinns! Just how did the happiest day of the year slip into a welter of blood, innards and shambling, ravenous undead on the snowy streets of old London town? Will the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future be able to stop the world from drowning under a top-hatted and crinolined zombie horde? Was Tiny Tim's illness something infinitely more sinister than mere rickets and consumption? Can Scrooge be persuaded to go back to his evil ways, travel back to Christmas past and destroy the brain stem of the tiny, irritatingly cheery Patient Zero? It's the Dickensian Zombie Apocalypse - God Bless us, one and all!
REVIEW:
With the Christmas season once again beating its way towards you (and lets face it, the decorations are fighting against the Halloween decorations already) then you probably want to get hold a certain type of minty sweet and shut yourself away before we even hit December. So what can you do?
Quite simply get your mits on this tale as Adam Roberts brings it bang up to date with the added touch of Zombies. Turkey is off the menu and brains are what every good zombie wants in his stocking (whether there is a foot still in it or not.) Add to the mix the typical humour you expect from Adam, a cast of unforgettable characters and a certain little miscreant we’ve all wanted to off for years and you’ve got the makings of a great showdown. A little light hearted joy for the urban fantasy reader in the build up to that time of year and one that will never allow you to look at the Christmas feast the same way again.
BOOK BLURB:
Sprung from a prison in the centre of a star, the universe's last criminal is employed to kill the population of a planet. It is a crime that will tear apart an interstellar utopia. Keeping ahead of detection and preparing the crime, the killer voyages to numerous worlds and hones the instincts required for murder. And wonders who is behind the contract. Roberts' new novel is an extraordinary fusing of ideas, exotic locations, personal drama and an enquiry into the nature of crime in a society that thinks it has forgotten how to commit it.
REVIEW:
Another classic offering from Gollancz and really has made this a great month for Science Fiction . Well written, this first person examination into a future from a sociopath’s point of view. Cunningly crafted and above all a tale that will grip you not only with the lovingly crafted characters within but with the plausibility of the world for which they all inhabit with the only draw back being the tale nicely tied up with a big bow in the final chapter. Its definitely worth a read and a tale that will set the bar high for the sheer quality within.
